Explanation:
The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often
named for flowers or
insects.
Though its wingspan covers over 3 light-years,
NGC 6302 is no
exception.
With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees
C,
the dying central star of this particular
planetary nebula
has become exceptionally
hot, shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from
direct view by a dense torus of dust.
This sharp close-up was recorded by the
Hubble
Space Telescope in 2009.
The Hubble image data is reprocessed here, showing off the remarkable
details of the complex planetary nebula.
Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust
torus
surrounding the central star is near
the center of this view, almost edge-on to the line-of-sight.
Molecular hydrogenhas been
detected in the hot star's dusty cosmic shroud.
NGC 6302
lies about 4,000 light-years away in the
arachnologically correct constellation of the Scorpion
(Scorpius).